Bruce Stanton

[Conflict in Mali, February 5th, 2013]

Order, please.

In fact, we are at the end of the time allocated. We will now go to questions and comments.

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

[Business of Supply, February 5th, 2013]

It being 5:30 p.m., pursuant to an order made on Thursday, January 31, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion of the hon. member for Nanaimo—Cowichan relating to the business of supply.

Call in the members.

[Franco-Ontarian Day, September 25th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, in 2010, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario passed the Franco-Ontarian Day Act.

The Government of Ontario made a symbolic gesture to pay tribute to the exceptional contribution the francophone community makes to civil society in their province.

From now on, every year on September 25, Franco-Ontarians will proudly celebrate their language, heritage and culture. Today, the green and white of the Franco-Ontarian flag will radiate across the province.

French-speaking Ontarians have been in the province for 400 years. They help strengthen our country's linguistic duality and represent a cornerstone of our national identity.

Happy Franco-Ontarian Day to all Franco-Ontarians in Ontario and across the country.

[Agricultural Fairs, September 18th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to welcome hon. members back to the House after a busy and seemingly quick summer recess.

As the season is upon us, I would like to pay tribute to the grand tradition of agricultural fairs across Canada and the literally thousands of volunteers who put them on each autumn. Agricultural fairs came to Canada with the first British colonists. They were organized by agricultural societies, farm families who understood the benefits to be gained by sharing experiences and advancing farm technology in their communities.

Today, these celebrations of our agriculture and rural way of life help connect Canadians with a greater appreciation for what farming and farm families contribute as producers of safe, high-quality food, as stewards of our soil and water and who, together with our agrifood industries across Canada, generate fully 8.1% of our GDP. I encourage all hon. members to visit a fall fair in their region this season and help celebrate Canada's agricultural tradition.

[Don Jenkins and Lloyd Dennis, March 29th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, we were saddened to learn of the passing of not one, but two of Orillia's most prominent citizens several weeks ago.

In late February, after a brief battle with cancer, we lost City Councillor Don Jenkins. Don was a consummate booster of community and country. He and Sara would regularly lead or support community causes and events for the arts and history and all that would serve to advance the city Don loved, but his interest did not stop there. He understood how important Canada's efforts were on the international stage and he shared that wisdom regularly.

Just days later, we learned that Lloyd Dennis had passed away. Together with former Ontario Justice Emmet Hall, Lloyd authored the Hall-Dennis report titled “Living and Learning”, which became the blueprint for the modernization of Ontario's education system in the 1960s and 1970s. Lloyd never missed a chance to help people learn. He was a life-long teacher and an inspiration to all of us who had the privilege to know him.

To Sara and Marilyn and the loving families of Don and Lloyd, we send our thoughts and prayers.

[Curling, March 14th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, last weekend, in Saskatoon, we witnessed one of the most exciting finishes in Canadian men's championship curling in recent years. The final, on Sunday, had fans glued to their TVs and iPods as Glenn Howard's Ontario rink fought off a late surge by Kevin Koe's Alberta rink to capture the 2012 Tim Hortons Brier. It was another proud achievement for Glenn, his fourth Brier win and his second as skip.

The Howard team heralds from the Coldwater Curling Club in the centre of my riding. I know that all the members there and our entire community are immensely proud of Glenn and his Ontario team.

Congratulations to skip Glenn Howard, lead Craig Savill, second Brent Laing, and third, veteran Wayne Middaugh for taking the Brier last weekend. They will have thousands of Canadian sports fans cheering them on as they take on the world championship next month in Switzerland.

[Valentine's Day, February 14th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, today we should take the time to give extra attention to our loved ones, wanting them to be our valentine and hoping, with every measure of our being, that they will want us to be theirs.

Today I would like to express my love and gratitude to my incredible family: our eldest daughter, Stephanie, whose determination is there at every turn, and her wonderful children, Sienna and Carter; our only son, Jason, whose kindness and laughter are contagious to everyone he meets, along with his devoted wife, Amanda, and their bright young daughter, Lyla; our daughters, Lauren and Valerie, who grace each and every day for both of us; and finally, Heather, a wife who is without equal, who is an incredible strength for our family and who holds us together.

I am so proud of each and every one of them. I humbly ask on this special day that they be my valentine.

[Sarah Burke, January 30th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, earlier this month we received the tragic news that one of our own had suffered a serious injury while training in Park City, Utah. Sadly, only nine days later on January 19, we learned that Sarah Burke who was only 29 years of age had succumbed to her injuries.

A six-time gold medallist at the Winter X Games and world champion freestyle skier, Sarah was a pioneer and fierce advocate for her sport. She recently led the campaign that will see the superpipe competition debut at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia, where Sarah surely would have been a gold medal contender for Canada.

I invite all hon. members to join with me and the legions of Canadians for whom Sarah was a role model and champion in keeping in our thoughts and prayers Sarah's husband Rory, her sister Anna, her parents Jan and Gordon, and their family and friends in Squamish, British Columbia and Midland, Ontario.

To Sarah, for the generation that she has inspired, for the memories that she leaves with us and for the spirit that lives on in our hearts, we thank her, we thank an outstanding Canadian.

[Hillcrest Lodge, November 17th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, today I am pleased to bring attention to the success of an innovative seniors' housing initiative in my riding called Hillcrest Lodge.

For low-income seniors in our area facing illness, isolation and risks to their safety, Hillcrest is setting a new standard. It has created a community where quality housing, safety, good food and camaraderie have transformed the quality of life for some of our most vulnerable.

At Hillcrest, the cost of rent, utilities, meals and insurance is well below 60% of the average $16,000 a year that a low-income senior lives on. The residents have independence; a safe, inviting home; and a caring staff. I hope the Hillcrest model will spur the creation of more of these affordable assisted-living communities in the years ahead.

I would like to take this time to congratulate the Hillcrest volunteer board of directors and their partners, like Helping Hands and Community Care Access. They are working together to make supportive, assisted living a reality for seniors in our region.

[Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal, June 21st, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, last Saturday, June 11, the 2011 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour was presented at a gala reception at the YMCA Geneva Park Conference Centre near the city of Orillia in my riding.

Each year the Leacock Medal is awarded for the most humourous book published in Canada the previous year. Its winners have included literary icons like Farley Mowat and W.O. Mitchell and contemporary humorists like Terry Fallis and Will Ferguson.

This year, the Leacock Associates have awarded the medal and its $15,000 prize, courtesy of TD Bank Financial Group, to Trevor Cole of Hamilton, Ontario for his recent book, Practical Jean.

I invite members to join in congratulating Mr. Cole for this great achievement. He brings us a work that recalls Leacock's own words on the subject, “Humour is essentially a comforter, reconciling us to things as they are in contrast to things as they might be”.

I congratulate Trevor.